CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil was out and about Friday to inspect the damage in the Tri-Cities.

David Edwards helped out his out-of-town neighbor clean up the mess in Petersburg.

Edwards and other neighbors are trying to get as much of the tree off the house as they can — and attempt to secure the roof.

“There’s a big hole up in the top part and the lower part, the gable end is knocked all the way down. Aand it looks like the chimney is also racked off,” he said.

Edwards said they will do what they can until his neighbor can get home Monday and find out what the insurance company advises.

It was a similar story across much of the Tri-Cities as downed trees blocked roads and took down power lines.

Many people who remain without electricity are doing their best to cope — and cleanup.

The storm ripped off vinyl siding from one shop and flattened a cinderblock building just a block away from Ron’s Mufflers in Dinwiddie County.

“Around 4 o’clock, we had the bay doors open and we just kind of walked out and looked to the left, and it was just pure black,” said Ryan Morgan of Ron’s Muffler Shop. “And then all of a sudden, it just rolled in. And it came in hard and we looked across the street and we couldn’t even see the produce center across the street.”

Across Central Virginia, thousands are still without power. Some of those folks still have trees tangled in their power lines. And most know that until the mess gets cleared up, their electricity won’t be coming back on.

Still, spotting power crews is a welcomed sight.

“I’m just so glad they’re here. I’m just ready for the power to be back on,” Kelile Brekke told Covil.